|W5: Digital citizenship| Platformization of Mobile Apps
Platformization: a concept to describe the growing integration of digital platforms’ business models, infrastructures, algorithms, and the practices around them into every facet of society (Casilli and Posada, 2019)
Multiplatform tools expand the scope of a single software life cycle by allowing the development process to be completed once and the final product to be deployed many times for each chosen platform.
However, adopting this development paradigm may have ramifications that go beyond simply choosing a tool. Changing the way things are done impacts a wide range of stages and actors in the software development cycle, including strategies, actions, and people. Of course, not all modifications would be beneficial, and even sticking to the conventional target-specific paradigm has several advantages that multiplatform frameworks cannot duplicate or match.
According to a survey conducted in October 2011, Android OS is used by 56 percent of smartphone users, while iOS is used by 28 percent; market share in the rest of the globe is also evenly spread.
Together with manufacturers and carriers, users are the essential market drivers for mobile applications, and their preferences shape the industry's future. Cross-platform development expands the possibilities of basic programs previously limited to a smaller group of users, increasing diversity and options for consumers to choose from an even more comprehensive range of applications.
Developer preferences will be crucial: they will need to establish a flexible software process that supports the needs of various targets, and they will be able to target their end products to a broader range of possible customers by using a single development process. Finally, by encouraging competition, platform owners will gain from the fact that consumers will be able to experience applications that were previously restricted to a specific scope and then migrate away from the competitor's platform.
Reference
Millennial Media, 2011. Scorecard for mobile advertising reach and targeting (S.M.A.R.T.™). Report for the 3rd Quarter, 2011. [online] Available at: <https://www.scribd.com/document/56217755/Millennial-Media-SMART-Q1-2011> [Accessed 6 April 2022].